1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an improved exercise belt and more particularly, to a belt to be worn encircling the waist of the user, including a back panel, two front panels that overlay over the abdomen, and resilient connectors between the ends of the back panel and the front panels, whereby the compressible hemispherical protruding elements at the inside front of the belt apply localized pressure to the abdomen of the user.
2. Description of Related
Various types of exercise belts are known in the art. Generally, conventional exercise belts comprise a plurality of prongs with sponge-like inside surfaces, a plurality of springs containing movable balls, massaging elements, a plurality of rubber balls, resiliently expansible sections, a plurality of rollers and/or a plurality of protruding elements disposed thereon, respectively,
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,207 to Christensen, Jr. discloses a belt having prongs extending inwardly through a layer of sponge-like compressible material fastened to the inside surface of the belt. The length of the prongs and the thickness of the layer are about the same, so that when the belt presses tightly against the wearer, the sharpened tips of the prongs will stick into the flesh of the wearer. With the prongs and the layer positioned to overlie the wearer""s abdomen, the wearer will be encouraged to contract the abdominal muscles, thereby reducing the pressure of the belt against the wearer and minimizing the irritation produced when the prongs stick into the wearer""s flesh.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,843 to Kojigian, Jr. discloses a belt including a back panel, side panels and overlapping front panel sections provided with Velcro fasteners. Tubular pockets in the side panels each contain a helical spring. A steel ball is freely movable within each spring. The movements of the wearer of the belt will cause movement of the balls between the ends of the springs, and the resulting vibrations will produce stimulation of the wearer""s muscles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,608 to Simsian discloses an exercising apparatus fitted with a belt for applying massage stimulation to the user""s midsection during exercise. As shown in FIG. 7, the belt carries a group of massaging elements in the form of hollow compressible rubber bulbs. An air vent in each of the massaging elements allows air to fill and exhaust from the elements as they expand and contract. Other forms of the massaging elements are shown in FIGS. 8-13.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,257,957 to Kost discloses an appliance including a cradle supporting an array of soft rubber balls mounted for rotation on vertical spindles in the cradle. The balls engage and massage the abdomen of the user of the appliance, while the user is in a stretched upright posture.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,324,043 to Greene, U.S. Pat. No. 1,382,700 to Whalen, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,220,593 to Watson disclose belts including a resiliently expansible section employing helical tension springs, respectively
U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,039 to Ehren discloses a body massager which is formed by a loop of an elastic rod-like material carrying spaced rollers that impart a massaging stimulation to the user. The use of the massager about the midsection of the user is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The rollers may be formed of yieldable material.
U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 324,422 to Powell discloses a belt appearing to have an array of protruding elements carried on the inside surface of the belt and hook-and-loop elements at ends of the belt.
However, such conventional exercise belts suffer from a number of problems, including the fact that they do not apply localized pressure to the abdomen of the wearer.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an exercise belt which eliminates the above problems encountered with conventional exercise belts.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved exercise belt including at least one compressible protruding element provided at the inside front of the belt for applying localized pressure to the abdomen of the wearer.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a belt which encircles the waist of the user, including a back panel, two front panels that overlap over the abdomen, and resilient connectors provided between the ends of the back panel and the front panels wherein the resilient connectors, in the form of helical tension springs, overlie pads that contact the sides of the user""s waist. On the inner surface of the inner one of the front panels are provided a plurality, e.g. three, hemispherical protrusions of spongy resilient material. The protruding elements contact the abdomen of the user and provide stimulation to the abdominal muscles as the user moves, while also performing an exercise function. Hook-and-loop fastener found between confronting surfaces of the overlapping front panels allows the size of the belt to be adjusted to accommodate different users.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an exercise belt which is simple in structure, inexpensive to manufacture, durable in use, and refined in appearance.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.